how much is ucla affected by being public?

<p>ucla has a lot of things i love (good film program, great location, lots of extracurricular opportunities, etc). but how much is it affected by being public? if i got into a really good private school, would you guys honestly recommend i intend it just cuz its private? or is it inconvenient but perfectly manageable going to a public?</p>

<p>what school</p>

<p>the privates i’m applying to are stanford, usc, and some of the claremont colleges. maybe chapman. (i’m sure you’ll say “choose ucla over usc” lol but objectively, due to ucla being public…?)</p>

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<p>It’s not like the bureaucracy is going to injure you on the way to class or steal your things when you leave your room.</p>

<p>lol yeah but does it seriously affect your education in any way or is it just sometimes you can’t get a class you want?</p>

<p>My daughter is a sophomore and this winter will be her 5th quarter at UCLA. Maybe she is just lucky but so far she has gotten every class she wanted. You register in two passes so you use the first pass for the classes you really need or that you think will fill up. I am sure some people have problems with classes filling up but that will happen anywhere. My older D is at a small, private LAC in Oregon with less than 2000 students. Classes fill up there too and there aren’t as many offered each semester because of the small student body.</p>

<p>I asked my D over Thanksgiving if the budget cuts have affected her or if she notices any difference. She said no. Once you are accepted to all your colleges the best thing to do is to visit again, spend the night if you can and weigh all the pros and cons. UCLA is a world class university in a world class city.</p>

<p>thanks, inquiringmind! that does help. ive just gotten scared hearing people say stuff like “i wouldn’t have even applied to uc’s if i knew about the budget cuts 2 years ago” and stuff!</p>

<p>the budget cuts do hurt, but it also depends how much financial aid you receive. UC will cover the fee increases for low-income students, but keep in mind that Cal Grants may be in jeopardy (again) next year. private colleges typically offer much more grants than public, so do your math when those financial aid award statements come in. for example, stanford gives full rides for students whose families make less than $60k a year.</p>

<p>^adjusted income or gross income for stanford thing?</p>

<p>^^^Gross income before taxes</p>

<p>ahh kk. thanks!</p>

<p>now that i’m graduating senior at UCLA (cse major), i’ve felt the effects of the budget cuts. some of the required classes i have to take in order to graduate are now offered only once a year, and i feel that there are less options/elective choices per quarter.</p>

<p>i’ve never had trouble getting a class until this quarter which is ironic since i’m a graduating senior…</p>

<p>the price of being out-of-state also hurts, especially since we get less chances at grants or scholarships at a UC school (relative to in-state students).</p>

<p>classes are big - even the engineering courses are getting bigger since professors are getting cut (my classes have around ~30-50 students).</p>

<p>Whitecadillac, FAO looks at your parents’ “taxable wages”, which is basically their gross wages minus the healthcare premiums (what your parents pay every month in order to get medical/dental insurance).</p>